Mayhem Miller vs. Nick Diaz Possible in 2011

It seems to be a fight that just about everybody wants to see, and with the right factors in place it’s a fight that Strikeforce is interested in promoting.

According to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, the higher-ups at the promotion have discussed pitting welterweight champion Nick Diaz in a possible catchweight fight against Jason “Mayhem” Miller at some point in 2011.

There is no love lost between the two fighters after a couple of altercations over the last year. First came the post-fight brawl in Nashville, Tenn., when Miller stormed the cage asking then Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields for a rematch. A melee ensued shortly thereafter and Diaz was in the mix as the violence erupted with Miller on the bottom of a dog pile.

Fast forward to October following Diaz’s title defense win over K.J. Noons, the two fighters exchanged words in a hallway before a water bottle was allegedly launched and yet another scuffle broke out.

Miller has been asking for the match-up for several months, going as far as re-titling his personal blog DontBeScaredHomie.com, a phrase Diaz has used on more than one occasion.

Coker admits that the fight between Miller and Diaz seems like a natural fit, but not without some extra handlers getting involved first.

“You have to look at it from all different angles,” Coker said about Mayhem vs. Diaz. “Would it be a fun fight to promote? Sure. I think we should wait until the beginning of the year, and let’s have another conversation on that because with Miller and Diaz I just couldn’t imagine the extra security that I’d probably need to get to make that fight happen.”

Coker did point to the fact that Diaz’s next fight would likely not be in the welterweight division, as Strikeforce sorts out who exactly would be the next challenger for his 170-pound belt.

“Nick, he could also fight some catchweight fights. I think there’s some fights ahead of him that we would love to promote,” Coker stated. “He just came off a pretty brutal fight with K.J., so let him rest till the beginning of the year, and we can start having conversations about his next opponent, maybe the turning of 2011.”

If the Diaz fight doesn’t happen, Miller would also seemingly have a score to settle with current Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, after their last fight ended with Miller being disqualified for an illegal kick. Coker also points out that a third fight between Miller and Tim Kennedy could be a match-up Strikeforce is interested in putting together.

Whoever is next for the charismatic host of MTV’s “Bully Beatdown,” Coker believes he’s on the fast track to some big things in 2011.

“For Mayhem, we’ve got some great fights for him ahead,” said Coker. “We’re going to promote all those fights. I saw him fight in Japan against (Kazushi) Sakuraba, I was pretty impressed. I think he’s getting better and better with every fight.”

Look for Miller and Diaz both to return in 2011, but as of right now it may not be against one another.